Revista Latinoamericana de Etnomatemática (Feb 2015)
Recuperar la memoria histórica y las matemáticas andinas
Abstract
In this work the authors seek to recover the historical memory of a forgotten mathematics—those that structured the Andes before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. The numeric traditions of the autochthonous Andean cultures have been negated, erased, and appropriated by colonial and foreign discourses that have interpreted Andean past according to their own terms thus negating the existence of other ways of knowing. Tracing these global historic processes allows a recovery of Andean historical memory, which could be incorporated into ethnomathematics classes in the future. Successfully sharing the intellectual and mathematic history of Andean past has the potential to re-locate indigenous thought within unilateral power structures, thus changing the way in which indigenous agency is recognized and promoting the enriching plurality of our society.
